Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
The global retail-payment networks Mastercard and Visa are on a tear, acquiring and investing in adjacent payment-opportunity space in networks that can leverage and reinforce their existing franchises. Their traditional payment schemes are dominant worldwide and near indestructible. While for the foreseeable future they could grow on autopilot, to their …
July, 2020
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9 July
Wirecard’s U.S. Unit Draws Interest and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 7/9/20
The U.S. subsidiary of failed German payment processor Wirecard AG is drawing strong interest from potential buyers, according to media reports. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether Wirecard AG played a critical role in an alleged $100 million bank-fraud conspiracy connected to an online marijuana marketplace.Splitit Payments Ltd., which enables …
June, 2020
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30 June
Wirecard’s U.S. Unit Bids for a New Owner As Rivals Sense an Opportunity to Win New Business
The fallout from the Wirecard AG financial scandal has hit the U.S. market as the processor’s North American unit announced late Monday it is seeking a buyer. Wirecard North America Inc., based in Conshohocken, Pa., said it has engaged an unnamed investment bank to assist in the transaction. In the …
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25 June
Paysafe Names New Acquiring And E-Commerce Heads As Payments Veteran Rawls Retires
Paysafe Group on Thursday capped a recent restructuring of its payment-processing unit with the appointment of a chief executive for the unit’s U.S. acquiring division. Afshin Yazdian on July 1 will take over the division, one of two businesses formed with the splitting of the company’s payment-processing unit. Paysafe also …
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23 June
With an $825-Million Deal for Finicity, Mastercard Picks up Open-Banking Tech for POS Credit
Mastercard Inc.’s $825-million deal for Finicity Corp., announced Tuesday, may be aimed at ensuring a strong position in burgeoning markets like point-of-sale credit, but it could also prove handy as consumers struggle with the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, observers say. The acquisition, which Mastercard says should close by …
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18 June
Private-Label Debit Provider ZipLine Sold to PDI
ZipLine, the provider of private-label debit payment services for convenience stores like Cumberland Farms, has been acquired by Professional Datasolutions Inc., a c-store software developer and services company. Announced Thursday, the deal will enable Alpharetta, Ga.-based PDI to bundle ZipLine’s private-label debit and mobile-payment app with its Marketing Cloud Platform. …
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18 June
May E-Commerce Spending up 93% and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/18/20
E-commerce spending in the United States surged 93% in May, compared to May 2019, according to Mastercard Inc.’s SpendingPulse data service.Installment-payment technology provider Splitit Payments Ltd. said it signed a multiyear deal with Mastercard Inc. to provide access to Splitit’s installment options through Mastercard’s merchant network. Split and Mastercard also plan to jointly …
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17 June
Amazon To Use Mastercard Tokenization and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/17/20
Mastercard Inc. announced Amazon.com Inc. will start using tokens to replace actual customer card data throughout 2020. Tokenization replaces actual card data with data strings that are meaningless to outside parties. The process also permits automatic credential updating when cards expire.Payments card standards body EMVCo made it official—consumer-facing online-payment checkout options based on …
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16 June
Square’s PPP Lending and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/16/20
Merchant processor Square Inc. said that as of June 10 its Square Capital service had facilitated more than $820 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans to 76,000 small businesses since April 29. PPP loans are part of the federal government’s stimulus program to combat the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.In …
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15 June
It’s Goodbye Cards, Hello Electric Cars for Publicly Traded Processor Net Element
Merchant processor Net Element Inc. has a letter of intent to merge with Mullen Technologies Inc., a privately held startup that plans to sell Chinese-made electric sports cars in the U.S. The pending deal, announced Monday, requires Net Element to divest its payment-processing business. The so-called “reverse triangular merger” is …
